Montevideo (Uruguay); Manila/Sagada (Philippines); Johannesburg (South Africa); Berlin (Germany)
Radio in Germany is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2023. To mark the occasion, “Listening to the World – 100 Years of Radio” has been launched as a cooperative project between the Goethe-Institut, the “Experimental Radio” professorship at Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, Deutschlandfunk Kultur and the Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW.
In Germany, Berliner Funk Stunde A.G. began regular broadcasting for the first time on 29 October 1923. The first German radio play followed nearly a year later. This dual anniversary – 100 years of radio and 100 years of radio art – is a good reason to research the historical connection between radio and globalization and explore international and in some cases previously unknown archives and histories of radio broadcasting.
Led by the “Experimental Radio” professorship at Bauhaus Universität Weimar and local curators from Buenos Aires, Manila and Harare, artists, experts and listeners will explore the significance of radio in South America, South Asia and Southern Africa and search for global connections. The project will emphasize listening as an alternative way of viewing the world. Radio gives rise to a sense of identity, strengthens democracy and is used for propaganda and espionage. The internet has changed radio and spawned new audio formats such as podcasts. And this is influencing our listening habits in new ways.
Bauhaus.Listening.Workshops will be held by way of an example at three locations worldwide: in Montevideo (March 2023), in Manila / Sagada (August 2023) and in Johannesburg (March 2024). The “Experimental Radio” professorship will present the results of the workshops and research on a new digital knowledge platform, the “Transcultural Listening Map”, which in turn will supply the source material for a series of podcasts on Deutschlandfunk Kultur and for productions in the participating countries.
This project offers not only an opportunity to pay tribute to the history of radio, but also invites people to explore the fascinating art of listening in different regions of the world, to put them into context and thus gain a new understanding of the world through the viewpoint of radio.
On 21 and 22 October 2023, an event was held at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt to mark the 100th anniversary of radio. Together with all partners and curators, the Goethe-Institut presented an artistic and discursive programme with performances, lectures, workshops, installations, talks, music and screenings around the project Listening to the World - 100 Years of Radio. The focus was on the South American and South Asian region.
The event was accompanied by a diverse radio programme that was broadcasted live from HKW on 21 and 22 October via Bauhaus.FM (online and UKW 106.6 MHz) and Refuge Worldwide.
On October 19, 2024 from 12 noon, a second event will take place as part of Listening to the World - 100 Years of Radio at HKW with a focus on southern Africa.
